Golf club having multicolored alignment apparatus

ABSTRACT

A putter head for a golf club includes a base having a putter face for striking a golf ball. A projection extends from the base. The projection includes surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the upward facing surface. The upward facing surface has a first color and the lateral surfaces each has a second color different from the first color.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62/257,554, filed Nov. 19, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to golf clubs, and more specifically to a golf club having a visual indicator providing feedback of the golfer's stance.

BACKGROUND

One of the most important, and most difficult skills, in the game of golf is putting. To be a good putter, one must take into account reading of the greens, adjusting the amount of force applied by the club to the ball to reach the hole, and aligning the putting head to the golf ball to direct the golf ball in the optimal direction.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a new and improved golf club. The golf club includes a base or putter head and a projection extending away from the base towards the golfer. The projection includes an upper surface facing the user and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the upper surface. The upper surface exhibits a first color and the lateral surfaces exhibit a color different from the first color. The projection acts as an indicator to provide feedback of the golfer's stance. In particular, the golfer stands over the putter head and looks downward at the projection. When the golfer sees only the upper surface (and not the lateral surfaces), this indicates that the golfer's line of sight is correctly aligned along the centerline of the projection. When the golfer sees both the upper surface and one of the lateral surfaces, this indicates that the golfer's line of sight is incorrectly aligned, namely, leaning too far forward over the putter or not leaning far enough. The golfer can then lean and/or adjust the shaft angle accordingly until the correct alignment is established and validated by what is seen on the projection, i.e., no lateral surfaces are visible.

It will be appreciated that the multi-colored projection of the present invention can supplement an existing golf club, e.g., be integrally formed therewith, or have a stand-alone construction including the shaft. The stand-alone putter head will include the putting face while the supplemental putter head will simply be secured atop the existing putter head having the putting face. In any case, a putter head using the present invention includes the projection having surfaces with contrasting colors that allow the golfer to determine their line of sight relative to the centerline of the projection and readily make adjustments.

In one example, a putter head for a golf club includes a base having a putter face for striking a golf ball. A projection extends from the base. The projection includes a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the upward facing surface. The upward facing surface has a first color and the lateral surfaces each has a second color different from the first color.

In another example, a putter head for a golf club includes a base having a recess and a putter face for striking a golf ball. A projection within the recess extends from the base. The projection includes a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the upper surface. The upper surface has a first color and the lateral surfaces each has a second color different from the first color.

A putter head for a golf club includes a base having a putter face for striking a golf ball. An insert secured to the base includes a projection extending from the base. The projection includes a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the surface. The surface has a first color and the lateral surfaces each has a second color different from the first color.

Other objects and advantages and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a golf club having a putter head in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the putter head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the putter head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the putter head of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate various indication scenarios when a golfer uses the putter head of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate another example putter head in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate another example golf club and putter head in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate yet another example golf club and putter head in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate yet another example golf club and putter head in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to golf clubs, and more specifically to a golf club having an indicator providing feedback of the golfer's stance.

FIGS. 1-5C illustrate a golf club 10 and putter head 14 in accordance with the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the golf club 10 includes a shaft 12 and a head 14 secured to an end of the shaft. The head 14 is schematically shown as being substantially rectangular but could alternatively have any shape known in the art by putter manufactures, e.g., Calloway®, Titleist®, Odyssey®, etc. The head 14 could therefore be a blade, mallet, high MOI style, etc. The golf club 10 could be right-handed (as shown) or left-handed (not shown).

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the head 14 includes a base 20 having a top surface 22 facing towards the golfer and a bottom surface 24 facing towards and resting on the ground. The head 14 further includes a putting face 30 for striking a golf ball towards the hole. The face 30 can be smooth or textured, e.g., knurled.

A projection 50 extends from the top surface 22 towards the golfer. The projection 50 also extends longitudinally along a centerline 52 that extends at an angle, e.g., perpendicular, to the putting face 30. The projection 50 includes an upper surface 54 facing the golfer and a pair of lateral surfaces 56, 58 extending parallel to the centerline 52 on opposite sides of the upper surface 54. Each lateral surface 56, 58 extends perpendicular to the top surface 54. Each of the surfaces 54, 56, 58 can be rectangular (as shown), have a different polygonal shape or be arcuate, e.g., the projection 50 can be cylindrical with planar sides.

The surfaces 54, 56, 58 cooperate to provide visual feedback of the position or putting stance of the golfer when holding the golf club 10 and addressing the golf ball with the putter face 30. In one example, the upper surface 54 exhibits a first color and the lateral surfaces 56, 58 exhibit a second color different from the first color. The first color can be applied in any known manner to the upper surface 54, e.g., paint, stain, dye or a colored strip secured to the upper surface. Similarly, the second color can be applied in any known manner to the lateral surfaces 56, 58, e.g., paint, stain, dye or a colored strip secured to the lateral surfaces. In one example, both lateral surfaces 56, 58 are the same color visually distinct from the first color. In another example, the lateral surfaces 56, 58 are different colors/shades with both being a different, distinct color than the upper surface 54.

The projection 50 and/or the base 20 can be made of any number of materials, e.g., wood(s), plastic(s), metal(s), and combinations thereof. The surfaces 54, 56, 58 can likewise be made of different materials to provide the aforementioned color contrast. In other words, the projection 50 can be formed from materials that naturally exhibit colors distinct from one another to form the first color upper surface 54 and second color lateral surfaces 56, 58.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5D, the golfer grasps the shaft 12 with the putter face 30 facing leftward (for a right-handed golfer) and the base 20 on the ground. The golfer positions the golf ball near the putter face 30 and angles the base 20 relative to the ground (clockwise or counterclockwise as shown in FIGS. 5A-5D) such that the centerline 52 points towards the hole along the trajectory the golfer wishes to strike the ball. At this time, the golfer can use the projection 50 as a visual indicator for properly aligning the golfer's line of sight along the centerline 52. In particular, the projection 50 helps to ensure the golfer is looking directly down at the upper surface 54 while maintaining the bottom surface 24 flush with the ground.

When the golfer looks down on the projection 50 and sees both the upper surface 54 and the lateral surface 56 (FIG. 5A), this indicates that the golfer's line of sight is incorrectly positioned behind of the centerline 52. This can mean that the golfer is leaning back too much in the direction L, their arms are extended to far away from the shaft 12, and/or the shaft is tilted away from them in the direction T1 (FIG. 5D).

When the golfer looks down on the projection and sees both the upper surface 54 and the lateral surface 58 (FIG. 5B), this indicates that the golfer's line of sight is incorrectly positioned in front of the centerline 52. This can mean that the golfer is leaning forward too much in the direction R, their arms are pulled to close to the shaft 12, and/or the shaft is tilted towards them in the direction T2 (FIG. 5D).

When the golfer sees the upper surface 52 but neither of the lateral surfaces 56, 58 (FIG. 5C), this indicates that the golfer's line of sight is correctly aligned along the centerline 52 of the projection 50. In other words, the bottom surface 24 of the base 20 is flush with the ground, the shaft 12 is not tilted towards or away from the golfer, and the golfer's line of sight looks directly down onto the upper surface 54 of the projection. Once the golfer sees the projection 50 as viewed in FIG. 5C, the putting stroke is made to advance the ball towards the hole.

The ability of the golfer to recognize these various conditions and positions relative to the centerline 52 is possible because of the multi-colored surfaces 54, 56, 58 of the projection 50. More specifically, the color contrast between the upper surface 54 and the lateral surfaces 56, 58 provides the golfer with an easy to decipher, visual indication of where their line of sight is relative to the centerline 52 of the projection 50. As a result, the golfer can readily adjust their position relative to the centerline 52 based upon which surfaces 54, 56, 58 are visible until the correct alignment is established and validated by what is seen on the projection 50, e.g., only the upper surface is visible. Consequently, the golfer can ensure they are repeatably aligned with the centerline 52 every time the golf ball is to be struck, thereby accounting for several of the many requisite factors of consistently striking the golf ball—coordinated golfer head and putter shaft 12 alignment relative to the ball.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate another example putter head 14 in accordance with the present invention. Features in FIGS. 6A-6B having the same or similar construction as features in FIGS. 1-5D are given the same reference number as the corresponding feature. In this example, the base 20 is formed from several pieces of wood to give the head a natural, aesthetically pleasing appearance. As shown, the top and bottom halves of the base 20 are formed from different wood types and/or are stained to provide the head with a multicolor appearance.

The projection 50 is also formed from wood with the top surface 54 being the same color as the top surface 22 of the base 20. The lateral surfaces 56, 58 of the projection 50 are painted a different color than the top surface 54. Alternatively, the lateral surfaces 55, 58 could be formed from a lighter or darker wood than the top surface 54 and/or stained to provide the color contrast between the lateral surfaces and top surface (not shown). In this instance, the projection 50 can be formed from two pieces secured together, namely, a first portion secured to the base 20 and formed from a first color wood to define the lateral surfaces 56, 58 and a second portion formed from a different color wood and secured atop the first portion to define the upper surface 54. The projection 50 and base 20 can be secured together with a tongue-in-groove configuration, adhesive and/or fastener.

Since wood is a softer material than metal, the projection 50 and/or the base 20 (specifically the putter face 30) can be coated with one or more layers of clear or translucent protective coating, e.g., urethane, to increase the durability and impact resistance of the base 20.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate another example golf club 100 having a head 14 and shaft 12 in accordance with the present invention. Features in FIGS. 7A-7B having the same or similar construction as features in FIGS. 1-5D are given the same reference number as the corresponding feature. In FIGS. 7A-7B, the projection 150 is formed as part of a separate insert or component 160 retrofit onto an existing golf club 100. More specifically, the insert 160 is provided in and secured to a recess 23 formed in the base 20 of the head 14. The centerline 152 of the projection 150 is aligned with and extends parallel to a trajectory indicator 27 formed on the existing putter base 20. In this instance, the indicator 27 is small recess extending into the base 20.

The insert 160 can be releasably connected to the base 20 to enable user customization or replacement of the projection 150 when desired. The releasable connection can be via adhesive, fastener, or the like and the golf club 100 operates in the same manner as the golf club 10 by using the surfaces 154, 156, 158 to properly align the golfer with the desired trajectory of the golf ball.

FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate another example golf club 200 having a head 14 and shaft 12 in accordance with the present invention. Features in FIGS. 8A-8B having the same or similar construction as features in FIGS. 1-5D are given the same reference number as the corresponding feature. In FIGS. 8A-8B, the projection 250 is formed as part of a separate insert 260 retrofit onto an existing golf club 200. More specifically, the insert 260 is secured to the top surface 22 of the base 20 such that the centerline 252 of the projection 250 is aligned with and extends parallel to a trajectory indicator 27 formed on the existing putter base 20. In this instance, the indicator 27 is a pair of aligned, white circles generally resembling golf balls.

The insert 260 can be releasably connected to the base 20 to enable user customization or replacement of the projection 250 when desired. The releasable connection can be via adhesive, fastener, or the like and the golf club 200 operates in the same manner as the golf clubs 10, 100 by using the surfaces 254, 256, 258 to properly align the golfer with the desired trajectory of the golf ball.

FIGS. 9A-9C illustrate another example golf club 300 having a head 314 and shaft 112 in accordance with the present invention. The projection 360 includes a first portion 364 and a second portion 366. The first portion 364 has an arcuate shape, e.g., half-oval or semi-circular, and the second portion 366 has a rectangular shape. Either or both of the portions 364, 366 could have a different shape than that shown. The first portion 364 includes a lower surface 365 and the second portion 366 includes a lower surface 367.

The projection 360 extends longitudinally along a centerline 362 that extends at an angle, e.g., perpendicular, to the putting face 330. The projection 360 includes an upper surface 370 facing the golfer and a pair of lateral surfaces 372, 374 extending parallel to the centerline 352 on opposite sides of the upper surface. Each lateral surface 372, 374 extends perpendicular to the upper surface 370. The surfaces 370, 372, 374 can be generally rectangular (as shown), have a different polygonal shape or be arcuate, e.g., the projection can be cylindrical.

The surfaces 370, 372, 374 cooperate to provide visual feedback of the position or putting stance of the golfer when holding the golf club 330 and addressing the golf ball with the putter face 330. In one example, the upper surface 370 exhibits a first color and the lateral surfaces 372, 374 exhibit a second color different from the first color.

A recess 380 is formed in the top surface 322 of the head 320 for receiving the projection 360. The recess 380 is elongated and is positioned in the head 320 to orient the centerline 352 of the projection at the desired angle relative to the face 330. The recess 380 is sized and shaped to receive the second portion 366 of the projection 360. More specifically, the lower surface 367 of the second portion 366 abuts a bottom surface 384 of the recess 380 such that the lower surface 365 of the first portion 364 abuts the top surface 322 of the head 320. Alternatively, one or both of the lower surfaces 365, 367 can be spaced from the respective surface 322, 384 (not shown).

A countersink 386 is formed with the recess 380 and extends to either side of the recess. The countersink 386 has an oval shape and extends into the base 320 to increase the surface area of the lateral surfaces exposed to the user. The countersink 386 can have an anti-reflective properties, e.g., material selection, coating or the like, to prevent the color of the lateral surfaces from being visible in the countersink.

What have been described above are examples of the present invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A putter head for a golf club comprising: a base having a putter face for striking a golf ball; and a projection extending from the base, the projection including a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the upward facing surface, the upward facing surface having a first color and the lateral surfaces each having a second color different from the first color.
 2. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection is rectangular.
 3. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection is integrally formed with the head.
 4. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection is releasably connected to the head.
 5. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection extends along a centerline along the trajectory in which the golf ball will travel.
 6. The putter head recited in claim 5, wherein the lateral surfaces extend parallel to the centerline of the projection.
 7. The putter head recited in claim 5, wherein the centerline is perpendicular to the putter face.
 8. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the lateral surfaces have the same second color.
 9. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection extends from a recess in the base.
 10. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the base and the projection are made of wood.
 11. The putter head recited in claim 10, wherein the lateral surfaces are made from wood having a different color than the wood forming the top surface.
 12. A putter head for a golf club comprising: a base having a recess and a putter face for striking a golf ball; and a projection within the recess extending from the base, the projection including a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the surface, the surface having a first color and the lateral surfaces each having a second color different from the first color.
 13. The putter head recited in claim 12, wherein the projection is integrally formed with the head.
 14. The putter head recited in claim 12, wherein the projection is releasably connected to the head.
 15. The putter head recited in claim 12, wherein the projection extends along a centerline along the trajectory in which the golf ball will travel.
 16. The putter head recited in claim 16, wherein the lateral surfaces extend parallel to the centerline of the projection.
 17. The putter head recited in claim 12, wherein at least one of the base and the projection are made of wood.
 18. A putter head for a golf club comprising: a base having a putter face for striking a golf ball; and an insert secured to the base and including projection extending upwards from the base, the projection including a surface facing upwards and a pair of lateral surfaces extending perpendicular to the surface, the surface having a first color and the lateral surfaces each having a second color different from the first color.
 19. The putter head recited in claim 1, wherein the projection extends along a centerline along the trajectory in which the golf ball will travel.
 20. The putter head recited in claim 5, wherein the lateral surfaces extend parallel to the centerline of the projection. 